Perhaps Gustavo himself had no idea how much and how long his album was In the end! the name can be used in the future, when it was issued in 2004, after everyone had already waited. Until recently, everyone needed Gustavo back, and it finally happened this summer at a hip-hop festival Flowafter a long hesitation, this year the artist accepted the program of Radio NABA Lightning at the bottom, who reviews the best Latvian music albums of all time, to talk about his work In the end!. He also announced the concert in a radio interview Arena Riga, album re-release plans and more.
When on the way to Arena Riga I asked at the bar on Nov 25th Ear to the director met Aik Karapetyan, he will go to the concert, because he once asked me as a DJ to play something from hip-hop, the director replies mockingly: me and the concert, me Gustavo, and you?
Waiting for the next “Finally”
The generation of today’s most active hip-hop listeners in 2004 were young or even unborn children, so Arena Riga mostly adults have gathered, who can now safely tell everyone, putting their hand on their heart, that eighteen years ago they were Gustavo’s biggest fans, that they knew all twenty-two tracks on the album by heart, even if I was actually mostly listening to other music at the time. However, the album In the end! was an exception, also appreciated by those who cannot consider themselves a real hip-hop fan, because the quality of the content of the music and lyrics, as well as the way in which they are presented, from the point of view of wise use of the Latvian language as a tool, can be appreciated even beyond the boundaries of genres, and has stood the test of time as an excellent masterpiece of Latvian and other hip-hop and a role model not only for modern rappers, but also for authors of texts of other genres.
I gladly played it from this album in public as a DJ and would like to do it in the most suitable format for this culture – the record that was also promised for the concert, but the factories are now busy due to the return of vinyl popularity, and we have to wait to do it again after some time you might exclaim with joy – then it’s finally here! Also, the promised book with lyrics is not there. If eighteen years have already passed, you can wait a little longer, because the anniversary is still ahead. Records and souvenir stands In the arena only three other albums and Gustavo T-shirts with the writing were on sale In the end!, which looks good but doesn’t sound right and has to settle for Spotify for now.
Chizhik is irresistible
Already after the concert, answering the question of a person who had not yet witnessed the events of 2004, whether Gustavo is the same Gustavo, to whom I could then, without thinking about it, answer yes – the years of a different identity (Arstarulsmirus) and The apparent separation from the past does not seem to exist in this concert and before us is Gustavo, who In the end! perform the lyrics with the same conviction as before. As promised, Gustavo’s old partner, drummer of the first Latvian hip-hop group FACT of the 90s, great showman and master of the sly gnome’s vocal timbre, the now well-known director Čižiks/Papa Chi/Aivars Čivželis, who has also recently debuted a new musical project, he takes over the stage. Shaking together with Edavārdis and DJ Dubra.
The multi-storey structure of the stage is grandiose, and the concert participants live on its different floors, however, the back wall behind the tangible structure is the field of Chizhik’s most unlimited expressions, whose “capture” abilities he also showed and reviving Brain storms at concerts, where it was more interesting to observe what was happening in the projections than the musicians themselves. There aren’t too many gaudy colors and swirls flickering on the Gustavo concert screens, which would distract attention from what is happening in front of them: everything is tasteful and austere, without exaggerating even with close-ups. For example, songs Usually lists of thoughts while Gustavo is lying on the floor on the top floor of the building, but on the screen he raps the same thing on stage as in a dream, remembering Neil Young films Human highway (1982) car mechanic, is hit on the head with a wrench and unconsciously has the nightmare of becoming a rock star.
No women this time
Concert sound In the arena is perfect, because maestro Didzis Simanovičs is at the console, DJ Monsta takes care of the accompaniments and the scratch all the time on stage, and only later is joined by the musicians – keyboards, guitar, bass and drums, soon also a quartet of brass bands, and many were already waiting for Gustavo in the following years of work, there will be choirs in beautiful clothes and hairstyles, but nothing – this is a 100% male show without a single woman on stage, which also do not occur to me during the concert.
As is customary for rappers, colleagues – both old members of FACT – Čižiks and Ozols, who also created a new song together, the climax of which is Čižik’s scream at the sky (this is especially appreciated at the beginning when they perform it ) are united on stage a cappella), that this is just the beginning. So there is reason to suspect that the return of this group will finally be expected (if it was expected), but without guitarist Jānis Kalniņš, alias Gonzas, who has not disappeared anywhere and recently joined a rock duo Next to Zero with the group Reflux And Mary Jane musician Jani Grantu.
My favorite album In the end! the song, which was released as a single on cassette and disc at the time, but you have to wait, and it comes out already towards the end, which comes imperceptibly, keeping your interest throughout the concert and never letting you get bored for a moment. Song Request comes out with the participation of representatives of a younger generation of rappers ansim, roland che and Xantikvariat, however, other major associations at the turn of the millennium IS the line “Here’s a question for us from Gustavo / You should all think about it” sung by member Jacques is not heard live, but from DJ Monsta’s console recording. Too bad, because this is precisely the key phrase of the song, which concert-goers can also be heard singing, walking out after the concert, but that too is another thing to wait for, waiting for the chance to exclaim “Finally!” , and even those there would be no end. We will continue to wait for the album and the next performance has already been announced from the stage – in the summer right there in Līgatne at the hip-hop festival Flowwhich is not close, but this time too will go unnoticed.
